Jealousy can beget humility. I once coveted a woman who preferred another man, perhaps in part to hurt me. I was angry and pained, but before two weeks were over, they had broken up their immature relationship. My friendship with both of them still lasts, but their mutual contact discontinued years ago.

Jealous:
1a. Intolerant rivalry or unfaithfulness b. disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness
2. hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage
3. vigilant in guarding a possesion
Envy:
1. painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage
2. (I didn't understand what it was saying)
3. an object of envious notice or feeling

Well, you can either say this this helped construct an awesome machine of destruction of other cultures by the use of the Inquistion, missionaries and the rest, or you can say that it help construct a path to get people closer to "god".

"Though shalt have no other gods before me, for I am a jealous God...."

From what I understand, in the Bible, (which I believe is where you got this from) the words are very old, and may have had slightly different meanings at the time the bible was written. The word jealous is, of course, is the word I'm talking about.